Military Chivalry

The incident occurred 10 days into the battle of Okinawa. The pilot, believed to be 19-year-old Setsuo Ishino, took off with 15 other pilots from their base at Kanoya. At noon, the USS Missouri is northeast of Okinawa and air defense is sounded as the “Zeke” is spotted on radar 7,500 yards out. The Zeke loses altitude rapidly as Mighty Mo’s anti-aircraft fire hits. Miraculously, the pilot regains altitude and speeds through the gunfire, managing to strike the side of Mighty Mo. Fire erupts and debris is sent flying on deck. After the attack, the crew clears the deck of the aircraft’s remains and discovers the pilot’s body among the wreckage.

As Mighty Mo’s seamen were about to wash the enemy body overboard, Captain William M. Callaghan, Missouri’s commanding officer, orders the ship’s medical team to prepare the body for a burial at sea.

The body was draped with a Japanese flag sewn by Missouri crew and carried on deck. The crew gathered and offered a hand salute as the Marine rifles aim their weapons skyward to render a salute over the pilot’s remains. Senior Chaplain, Commander Roland Faulk, concludes the ceremony by saying, “We command his body to the deep,” and his body is dropped into the ocean.

Humanity, equality, honor

This ceremony holds an important significance in our history because of the respect and honor given to the enemy by the Americans amidst a raging war. Costick explains Captain Callaghan’s admirable dignity and honor. Costick tells us that he “looked at it as..this man is serving in his military the same as any of us are, he’s just doing his job. And he’s performed with honor and paid the ultimate price. He deserves to be treated like a warrior. The fact that the ceremony was held and that this man was treated this way showed a lot of compassion on the part of Callaghan.”

I try to imagine what it must have been like for 19-year-old Ishino’s family at the time. To find out their son received the respect and honor from the American enemy must have been life-changing news for them. He was treated as if he was an American soldier, dying for his country.